Funding for Study and Research Abroad

The Department of French at Columbia University is pleased to announce the French and Francophone Studies Undergraduate Research Fellowship. The fellowship is intended to support students majoring in the humanities or the social sciences pursuing research in France or a Francophone country or region during the summer between their junior and senior years. Resources permit fellowships of up to $2,500.

Applicants must be juniors enrolled in Columbia College or General Studies at Columbia University. They should be planning to do research in preparation for writing a senior thesis. Their research can be in any discipline of the humanities and the social sciences and must relate to France or the Francophone world. The project must require a research trip in a Francophone region to be completed over the summer.

HOW TO APPLY
The application consists of a proposal and a letter of support. The proposal must include the following: 1) the purpose of the project and its significance to French and Francophone studies; 2) the particular skills, experience, and expertise the applicant brings to the project (including but not limited to knowledge of French); 3) a description of the research questions and methodology; 4) a description of the exact research sites the applicant plans to visit (libraries, archives, ethnographical fieldwork, etc.). The proposal should also include a detailed budget of the expected expenses. The complete proposal should be no longer than four double-spaced pages (plus one page for the budget).

Deadline for the proposal: Friday, March 27, 2026 by 5:00 pm. Students should send their application directly to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Joanna Stalnaker ([email protected]). They should also ask a potential thesis advisor to send a brief letter of support for the project under separate cover to Professor Stalnaker. The deadline for the letter of support is also March 27, 2026. Questions about this fellowship may be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of French, Professor Joanna Stalnaker ([email protected]).

Columbia College and the School of General Studies both offer small grants for thesis research.